CENVAT credit on endorsed Bills of Entry cannot be denied where duty-paid inputs are received and used in manufacture.

CENVAT credit cannot be denied merely because the Bills of Entry were endorsed in favour of the assessee by the importer or principal manufacturer. The Tribunal treated the decisive factors as the duty-paid nature of the inputs, their actual receipt by the assessee, and their use in manufacturing final products. Where those facts were undisputed and no statutory bar under the CENVAT Credit Rules was shown, a purely technical objection to endorsement was held insufficient. Credit was therefore allowed in favour of the assessee.

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Issues: (i) Whether CENVAT credit could be denied merely because the Bills of Entry were endorsed in favour of the assessee by the importer or principal manufacturer.

Analysis: The Tribunal followed its earlier decision on the same question and held that the decisive factors are the duty-paid character of the inputs, their receipt by the assessee, and their use in the manufacture of final products. A mere technical objection that the Bill of Entry was endorsed, without any dispute regarding the import nature of the goods, their duty-paid status, or their actual receipt and utilization, was held insufficient to deny credit. The objection was also considered unsupported by any statutory bar under the CENVAT Credit Rules.

Conclusion: CENVAT credit could not be denied solely on the ground of endorsement of the Bill of Entry, and the issue was decided in favour of the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: CENVAT credit cannot be disallowed on a purely technical objection to an endorsed Bill of Entry when the duty-paid nature of the inputs, their receipt, and their use in manufacture are undisputed.

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